Oral hygiene device

ABSTRACT

An oral hygiene device for cleaning the teeth and massaging the gums including a brush member and a fluid discharge member having a nozzle, wherein both members can be used separately or in combination. The brush member is adapted to be displaced along the fluid discharge member to a position adjacent the nozzle or to a storage position within a handle member.

United States Patent Inventor Siegfried Godel Nor-walk, Conn. Appl. No.880,331 Filed Nov. 26, 1969 Patented Nov. 9, 1971 Assignee Sperry RandCorporation New York, N.Y.

ORAL HYGIENE DEVICE 7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

U.S. C1 128/66, 128/62 Int. Cl A6111 9/00, A61h 7/00 Field of Search128/62 A, 66, 229, 66; 401/136, 137, 282-289, 144, l38140, 41-43,99,117;132/84 &\ E I v 19 17 15 22 Z 25 14 j] 20 j -1 yl/lll/{l/l/l/lg/l I l ////D I [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS1,091,993 3/1914 White et a1. l32/84BX 2,000,910 5/1935 Appelet al.401/284X 2,025,591 12/1925 Jones 132/84 B 2,883,692 4/1959 Kay et al..132/84 R X 2,986,766 6/1961 Landis 401/284 X 3,2 73,189 9/1966 Levinsonet al.... 128/62 A X 3,465,751 9/1969 Powers 128/229 X PrimaryExaminerLawrence Charles Attorneys-Charles R. Miranda and Burtsell J.Kearns ABSTRACT: An oral hygiene device for cleaning the teeth andmassaging the gums including a brush member and a fluid discharge memberhaving a nozzle, wherein both members can be used separately or incombination. The brush member is adapted to be displaced along the fluiddischarge member to a position adjacent the nozzle or to a storageposition within a handle member.

PATENTEDNUV SIS?! 3618.597

INVENTOR.

Skyfrz'eci GozZeZ ORAL HYGIENE DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thepresent invention is directed to new and useful improvements in oralhygiene devices and more particularly to such devices having a brushmember and a fluid discharge member.

Oral hygiene devices that include an elongated tube having a dischargenozzle at one end thereof to direct fluid against the gums andinterdental areas of the mouth are well-known. This fluid dischargedevice can be used to either pulsate fluid onto the gums or to provide acontinuous flow of fluid into the mouth. A pulsation of fluid onto thegums at selected frequencies will periodically deflect the gum tissuethereby stimulating the blood circulation within the gums much the sameas a message. A continuous nonpulsating discharge of fluid can be usedfor general mouthwashing purposes such as gargling or rinsing the teethand gums.

It is also known to combine a fluid discharge device with a toothbrushto permit a discharge of fluid into the mouth during brushing of theteeth. As the toothbrush member cleans the teeth the fluid output fromthe discharge member concurrently massages the gums or rinses the mouthand teeth. A fluid discharge member which delivers pulsations of fluidcan additionally be used to remove food particles that adhere to theteeth and to clean the teeth. It will be appreciated that when a brushmember and a fluid discharge member are combined in one device for dualfunctioning thereof the beneficial effects of each member can beachieved simultaneously.

In certain oral hygiene devices having this dual function the brushmember and fluid discharge member are inseparably combined whereby therespective members can be used together, or the brush can be usedwithout an accompanying discharge of fluid. However, due to the integralcombination of components the user cannot disassociate the brush fromthe fluid discharge member for separate use of the discharge member.This is an inconvenience, especially when a particle of food or othermaterial is wedged between the teeth so as to be inaccessible to thebristles of the toothbrush. Under these conditions a fluid dischargemember disassociated from a brush is capable of being easily manipulatednear the particle to dislodge it from the teeth with a discharge offluid.

In other dual function oral hygiene devices a toothbrush is detachablycombined with a fluid discharge member. However, under the knownarrangement the brush must be physically removed from the device inorder to permit separate use of the discharge member. The necessity toremove and reattach the brush member is an inconvenience, especiallywhen the brushing and fluid discharge functions are being used incombination and it is desired to momentarily use the fluid dischargemember separately. Unless the brushing or fluid discharge components canbe readily associated and disassociated the user will often neglect totake advantage of the provision for separate use of the fluid dischargemember.

It is an object of this invention to provide a novel oral hygienedevice.

Another object is to provide a novel oral hygiene device having a brushmember combined with a fluid discharge member.

ANother object is to provide a novel oral hygiene device wherein novelmeans are provided for combining the brush member with the fluiddischarge member whereby the latter can be used separately or incombination.

A further object is to provide a novel oral hygiene device wherein thebrush member is adapted to be displaced along the fluid discharge memberfor storage within a handle.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention contemplates a'novel oral hygiene device comprising a brush member and a fluiddischarge member including a nozzle at the discharge end thereof. In oneembodiment the brush member is slidably mounted on the discharge memberfor displacement thereon to a first limit position adjacent the nozzlewherein the brush is used with or without an accompanying discharge offluid through the nozzle. The brush is also displaceable upon the fluiddischarge member to a second limit position spaced away from the nozzlethereby permitting placement of only the fluid discharge member into themouth.

The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention willappear more fully hereinafler from a consideration of the detaileddescription which follows, taken together with the accompanying drawingwherein one embodiment of the present invention is illustrated.

DESCRIPTION OF VIEWS OF DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an oralhygiene device which incorporates one embodiment of the presentinvention and shows the brush member positioned for use with the nozzleof the fluid discharge member;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view thereof;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view thereof with portions of the handlebrush and fluid discharge member broken away and shows the brush memberpositioned within the handle member;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 4, and

FIG. 6 is a similar sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 3and rotated from that shown in FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now to the drawing for a more detaileddescription of the present invention, an oral hygiene deviceincorporating an embodiment thereof is generally indicated by thereference numeral 10in FIG. 1.

Oral hygiene device 10 includes an elongated channelshaped handle member11 (FIG. I) having a floor 14 (FIG. 2) and spaced sidewalls l2 and 13(FIG. 1) extending vertically therefrom. Handle 11 is made from anysuitable material such as polystryene or polypropylene. A fluiddischarge member 17 (FIG. 4) is secured to floor 14 of handle 11 (FIG.2) in any suitable manner such as by bonding or cementing. Dischargemember 17 (FIG. 4) comprises an elongated tubular conduit 18 thatextends beyond the ends of handle 11. Conduit 18 is provided with fluidoutlet means such as a nozzle 19 disposed at the discharge end thereofand which nozzle is bent approximately 90 with respect to the axis ofconduit 18.

Oral hygiene device 10 further includes a brush member 20 (FIGS. 1 and2) comprising a stem 21 made from any suitable material such aspolypropylene or polystyrene. Stem 21 includes a bristle mountingsurface 24 near stem end 22 with bristle tufts 25 (FIGS. 1 and 2)provided thereon, and a rear surface 26 (FIG. 6).

As mentioned it is an object of this invention to provide a novel oralhygiene device wherein the brush member is adapted to be displaced alongthe fluid discharge member for storage within a handle. To accomplishthis, rear surface 26 of stem 21 is provided with an elongated recess 28(FIGS. 4 and 6) that is C-shaped in transverse cross section. A curvedgroove 27 (FIGS. 2 and 4) is provided on end 22 of stem 21 and whichgroove 27 merges into and becomes continuous with recess 28.

The contours of recess 28 and groove 27 (FIG. 4) are slightly largerthan, but substantially similar in shape to the respective outer surfacecontours of conduit 18 and nozzle 19. Conduit 18 is disposed in recess28 (FIG. 4) for interconnection with brush member 20 and to enable brush20 to be shifted along conduit 18 to a first limit position adjacentnozzle 19 (FIGS. 1 and 2) whereby curved groove 27 will engage saidnozzle, and to a second limit position (FIG. 4) wherein the brush isstored in handle 11.

With brush 20 disposed in the first limit position adjacent nozzle 19(FIG. 2) a segment of stem 21 designated by the reference letter L inFIG. 2 remains disposed in the channel portion of handle 11 in bearingrelationship with the handle and which segment L prevents a brush member20 from swiveling about conduit 13 during brushing.

To ensure that brush 20 (FIG. 2) remains in a desired limit position theinner contour of recess 28 (FIGS. 4 and 6) is formed so that conduit 18makes sufficient surface contact with recess 28 to provide a frictionalrestraint against movement of brush member 20. Also stem 21 is formed sothat rear side 26 (FIGS. 4 and will contact floor 14 of handle 11 toprovide additional frictional restraint to maintain brush 20 in aselected limit position. If desired, various other standard detentingdevices, such as springs and notches (not shown) can be associated withhandle 11, brush member 20, or fluid member 17 to restrain the brush ina selected position on conduit 18.

To facilitate shifting the position of brush member 20 with respect tonozzle 19, a protruding finger-gripping surface 29 (FIG. 1) is providednear an end 23 of stem 21 (FIG. 2). Finger pressure against surface 29will serve to shift brush 20 along conduit 18.

In use, fluid discharge member 17 (FIG. 1) of oral hygiene device isconnected by any suitable means such as a flexible extension tube 30 toa supply of pulsating or continuously flowing fluid (not shown). Whencombined use of the brushing and fluid discharge members is desiredbrush (FIG. 4) is displaced along conduit 18 to the first limit positionadjacent nozzle [9 (HO. 1). In this position the brush is used with orwithout an accompanying discharge of fluid from the fluid member. ifdesired, the combined brushing and fluid discharge operations can beperformed with end 22 of brush 20 spaced a slight distance away fromnozzle 19. When it is desired to use discharge member 17 without brush20 the brush is shifted to a second limit position in a storagecompartment defined by the space within the channel portion of handle 11(FIG. 4) for storage therein. It will be understood by those skilled inthe art that means can be provided for sliding both the brush and fluiddischarge members into the storage compartment when the oral hygienedevice is not being used.

it will be apparent from the foregoing that the advantages of the noveloral hygiene device 10 include among other advantages the provision of abrush member 20 which can be shifted to a plurality of positions withrespect to a nozzle 19 of a fluid discharge member 17 to permit combinedor separate use of said members. A further advantage is that the brushand fluid members remain intact with device 10 regardless of whether thecombined or separate functions of brushing and fluid discharge are beingused. Because there is no need to physically detach or otherwise removethe brush member from the oral hygiene device the user can convenientlychange back and forth from combined use of the brushing and fluiddischarge functions to individual use thereof.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been illustratedand described in detail, it is to be expressly understood that theinvention is not limited thereto. Various changes can be made in thedesign and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as the same will now be understood by thoseskilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

1. An oral hygiene device comprising,

a. a handle having a storage compartment,

b. an elongated fluid discharge member adapted to be connected to asource of supply of liquid, the discharge member extending from saidhandle and having fluid outlet means, the fluid outlet means orientedfor directing fluid from the source toward the users mouth for oralhygiene purposes,

0. a brush member,

d. means interconnecting said brush member to said fluid dischargemember for slidable movement of said brush member on said dischargemember, the brush member being manually slidable to a first positionwherein said brush member is disposed adjacent said outlet means and toa second limit position wherein said brush member is spaced away fromsaid outlet means and disposed in said storage compartment to facilitateindependent use of the discharge member for oral hygiene purposes, and

e. said interconnecting means including means for maintaining said brushmember in either of said limit positions.

2. An oral hygiene device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said handlecomprises an elongated U-shaped channel having spaced sidewalls and afloor portion, and said storage compartment comprises the space definedby said sidewalls and floor portion.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein said fluid discharge member comprises aconduit attached to said handle and said brush member comprises a stemhaving a front surface with bristles provided thereon, and a rearsurface, said interconnecting means including a portion of the outersurface of said conduit interengaged in an elongated recess provided insaid rear surface whereby said brush member can be shifted along saidconduit to said first and second limit positions.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein said brush member, when positionedadjacent said outlet means, has a portion of said stem disposed in saidstorage compartment in bearing relationship with said handle to restrainsaid brush member from swiveling about said fluid discharge conduitv 5.The device of claim 3 wherein said rear side of said stem is formed tocontact said handle and said slidable interconnecting means are formedto contact each other, said contacts effecting a frictional restraintagainst movement of said brush member to either of said limit positions.

6. The device of claim 3 wherein means for shifting said brush memberare provided on said stem and include a fingergripping surface forshifting said brush member along said fluid discharge member to eitherof said limit positions.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein said brush member is provided with acurved groove and said fluid discharge member includes a conduit havinga discharge end, said outlet means comprising a nozzle having a benddisposed at said discharge and whereby said curved groove engages saidnozzle when said brush member is in said first limit position.

1. An oral hygiene device comprising, a. a handle having a storagecompartment, b. an elongated fluid discharge member adapted to beconnected to a source of supply of liquid, the discharge memberextending from said handle and having fluid outlet means, the fluidoutlet means oriented for directing fluid from the source toward theuser''s mouth for oral hygiene purposes, c. a brush member, d. meansinterconnecting said brush member to said fluid discharge member forslidable movement of said brush member on said discharge member, thebrush member being manually slidable to a first position wherein saidbrush member is disposed adjacent said outlet means and to a secondlimit position wherein said brush member is spaced away from said outletmeans and disposed in said storage compartment to facilitate independentuse of the discharge member for oral hygiene purposes, and e. saidinterconnecting means including means for maintaining said brush memberin either of said limit positions.
 2. An oral hygiene device as claimedin claim 1 wherein said handle comprises an elongated U-shaped channelhaving spaced sidewalls and a floor portion, and said storagecompartment comprises the space defined by said sidewalls and floorportion.
 3. The device of claim 1 wherein said fluid discharge membercomprises a conduit attached to said handle and said brush membercomprises a stem having a front surface with bristles provided thereon,and a rear surface, said interconnecting means including a portion ofthe outer surface of said conduit interengaged in an elongated recessprovided in said rear surface whereby said brush member can be shiftedalong said conduit to said first and second limit positions.
 4. Thedevice of claim 3 wherein said brush member, when positioned adjacentsaid outlet means, has a portion of said stem disposed in said storagecompartment in bearing relationship with said handle to restrain saidbrush member from swivelling about said fluid discharge conduit.
 5. Thedevice of claim 3 wherein said rear side of said stem is formed tocontact said handle and said slidable interconnecting means are formedto contact each other, said contacts effecting a frictional restraintagainst movement of said brush member to either of said limit positions.6. The device of claim 3 wherein means for shifting said brush memberare provided on said stem and include a finger-gripping surface forshifting said brush member along said fluid discharge member to eitherof said limit positions.
 7. The device of claim 1 wherein said brushmember is provided with a curved groove and said fluid discharge memberincludes a conduit having a discharge end, said outlet means comprisinga nozzle having a 90* bend disposed at said discharge and whereby saidcurved groove engages said nozzle when said brush member is in saidfirst limit position.